Brussels promises more openness about glyphosate

strasbourg - In determining whether substances such as the herbicide glyphosate are admitted, the European Commission promises to be more open in the future about the scientific studies on which such a decision is based. The studies become public, and if possible also the raw research data.

The quality and independence of such research must be beyond doubt, will come in a bill announced next year. The Committee thus responds to the European citizens' initiative in which more than 1 million Europeans called for a ban on glyphosate and the publication of underlying scientific reports when assessing pesticides.

Despite all the protests, the European glyphosate license was extended by five years last month, based in part on the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that the substance is not carcinogenic. According to opponents, EFSA had not been sufficiently critical of research that chemical giant Monsanto, manufacturer of the glyphosate-containing product Roundup, had supplied.